A thirteen day cycle
Cycle 4 Day 13
This is the last day of this cycle. I had my chemo day moved forward to Wednesdays so I only have to travel ten minutes to get disconnected instead of forty (or wait for an hour in an increasingly Covid-19 filled emergency room).
It's frustrating, but also obvious, that other health problems don't take a break just because you're getting treated for cancer. My mental health has been full of ups and downs this cycle - mostly ups, which you're forgiven if you think is better or easier. It's not, hypomania is truly unpleasant. My sleep has been erratic, and I need much more and more constant sleep now than I have in decades. And my appetite has been strong, which isn't all bad, weight loss is a common symptom of both colon cancer and chemotherapy, but one of the drugs in my chemotherapy really messes up my digestion and makes it much, much easier to overeat at a time when I'm prone to overeating or eating too quickly. It's all manageable, but instead of how good I was feeling back in cycles 2 and 3, I'm now constantly in some discomfort, physically and mentally.
This, too, is why I've been taking no pictures and sharing no posts. My brain is too flighty and unfocused. But it's nothing to be too concerned about. It's normal for me to have these episodes, even though I'm properly medicated. It will end soon, and I'll be back to my new, profoundly strange, normal.
From the comments
Ron: Any concern the altered digestion will affect medication uptake?
James Petrosky: I take my chemotherapy intravenously, so at the very least the most important medications will be unaffected. It might slow the uptake of lithium a bit, but since it takes a few weeks to get to a theraputic level in your blood, I don't think its something to worry about. The thing I'm more worried about is that one of the drugs I take for chemotherapy side effects can trigger manic episodes in bipolar people.
James Petrosky: But its a good question to add to my list next time I see my oncologist
Ron: I hope those potential side effects don't appear or are at least mild.